Cranking-lever for gas-engines.



G. W. HOYT.

ORANKING LEVER FOR GAS ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1910.

1,009,068. Patented Nov. 2 1, 1911.

I NVENTOR %|@gy M Granville WH V FFTQE.

GRANVILLE W. HOYT, OF DANBUR-Y, CONNECTICUT.

CRANKING-LEVER FOR GAS-ENGINES.

rooaoes.

Application filed September 30, 1910.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, GRANVILLE W. Hoxr, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Danbury, county of Fairtield, and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCranking-Levers for Gas-Engines; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in crankinglevers for gas engines, and has for its object to minimize the danger ofinjury to the operator by reason of the back firing of the engine, andwith this end in view my invention consists in certain details ofconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described andthen particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude thisdescription.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation showing thenormal position of the cranking deviceFig. 2 an end view-Fig. 3 a brokensectional elevation, and Fig. 1 a broken plan view.

Similar numerals of reference denote like parts in the several figuresof the drawings.

1 is the crank lever which may be secured in any ordinary and well knownmanner to the shaft of the engine. Within the outer end of this lever isan elongated circular recess 2 terminating at its outer end in anenlargement 3.

4 is any suitable crank handle having extending at right angles from theinner end thereof a spindle 5 adapted to be contained within the recess2 around which spindle is an annular groove 6 within which extends a pin7 driven through the lever 1, whereby said spindle is held within therecess and at the same time is capable of axial rotation.

Around the spindle 5 contiguous to the inner end of the handle 4 is acoil spring 8 which is disposed within the enlargement 3 one extremity 9of which spring extends within the lever 1 while the other end 10 ofsaid spring extends within the inner end of the handle 4. When thehandle is in the position shown at Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the spring will berelaxed, but when the handle is turned to the position shown at Fig. 1,and shown in dotted lines at Fig. 2, the spring will be wound.

The outer extremity of the lever 1 is cut Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Serial No. 584,678.

away so as to form abutments 11, 12, while extending from opposite sidesof the inner end of the handle 4 are shoulders 18, 1.4, and when thehandle is swung to operative position against the resiliency of thespring, as shown at Fig. 4, the shoulder 13 will strike the abutment 11and thereby enable the cranking operation to be performed with as greatefliciency as would obtain were the lever 1 and handle 41 integral; whenthe handle 1 is released the spring will force it to instantly return tonormal position and the shoulder 14 will strike against the abut-- ment12, as shown in solid lines at Fig. 2, so as to hold the handle extendedin a horizontal plane.

The operation of my improvement is as follows :The operator grasps thehandle and swings it around until the shoulder 18 strikes against theabutment 11 and then performs the cranking operation. When the handle isreleased, whether voluntarily by the operator after a successfulcranking operation or whether involuntarily, owing to the back firing ofthe engine, said handle will instantly return to normal position so thatthe revolution of the crank lever will not endanger life or limb,because the handle does not project outwardly beyond the crank lever.

The motion required to initially swing the handle to cranking positionis substantially the same as that required in cranking so that myinvention is very conveniently operated.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination of the crank lever havingwithin its outer extremity a recess, the handle having a spindleextending from its inner end within said recess and provided with anannular groove, the pin extending through said lever within said groove,the coil spring around the base of said spindle and having itsextremities engaged respectively with said lever and handle, andabutting portions formed on said lever and handle whereby theindependent swinging movements of said handle will be arrested in theoperative and normal positions of the latter.

2. The combination of a crank lever having its outer end formed with alongitudinal recess, a handle provided with a spindle swiveled in saidrecess, and a spring disposed within said recess and encircling saidspindle for maintaining said handle normally in inoperative positionwith relation to said lever, said spring having one extremity secured tosaid handle and the other extremity to said lever.

3. The combination of a crank lever provided at its outer end with alongitudinal recess, and with a pair of abutments, a handle provided atits inner end with a spindle swiveled in said recess and with a pair ofshoulders arranged to contact with said abutments for arresting theindependent swinging movements of said handle in its operative andinoperative positions, and a .sprlng dlsposed w1tl11n said recess andencircling said spindle, said spring having its extremities secured tosaid lever and handle for normally holding the latter in its inoperativeposit-i011, with one of its shoulders in contact with the correspondingabutment.

4:. The combination of a crank lever provided at its outer end with alongitudinal recess, a handle provided with a spindle rotatably fittedin said recess and formed with an annular groove, a pin extendingthrough said lever into said groove, and a spring disposed within saidrecess and encircling said spindle, said spring having its extremitiessecured to said lever and handle for holding the latter normally ininoperative position with relation to the former.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GRANVILLE W. HOYT. Witnesses F. W. SMITH, Jr., M. T. LONGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0.

